Hi all,
I just need to vent for second and my parents are getting sick of me. I was at my horse class today with my gelding. It was about 5 hours long today instead of our normal 2. Well, last week me and my sister skipped class to go hunting and my instructor wanted us to make it up. Okay no biggie right? HA!
The first class we started the horses on walking and trotting circles around cones. Come the second class (our make up class we joined in on his second class) He told us we were going to do a reining pattern. Like a real reining pattern at the lope. We had 20 minutes to practice rollbacks, stops, spins, ect (things we haven't ever done before) in an arena with like 15 other people on horseback.
I expressed my concerns about my gelding having hock arthritis and being expected to do these moves. I was accused of making excuses for my horse! And told that everyone else does what needs to be done without a word and I should to.
It came my turn to do the pattern and it was a mess! (I wonder why?) His circles were everywhere (im just thankful he picked up the correct leads) his spins were more like little circles, and his rollbacks were him turning in an arc. I was embaressed as heck, because everyone was watching me, I was riding in a halter (forgot my bridle and he decided to be a pain that day) and we completly screwed everything up.

Is it just me or was it a little unfair to ask my horse to perform this knowing full well he couldn't do it? And I still cant get over the whole making excuses for my horse.

Okay, my vent's over.

Muppetgirl

10-20-2012 11:39 PM

Definitely unfair to you and your horse. To be asked to perform a whole reining pattern when you've never done it before, and it sounds like your horse has never done it either is ridiculous.....

However in saying that, you have some ownership in some of it - you forgot your bridle....probably didn't go over to well with the instructor.....although not really a good enough reason to ask you and your horse to do more than you can handle......

Yikes, I have a finished reining horse and some, not lots, but some experience with reinng ...and well I hate to admit it but right now at this point I don't think I could complete anything particularly jaw dropping!!!!!

Perhaps you need to look at this whole experience as a learning curve, identify what you can do in the future to avoid this kind of disappointment and embarrassment and move forward.....choose not to let it ruin your day, your week, your next lesson:-). Good luck:-)

ThePaintGirl

10-20-2012 11:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Muppetgirl
(Post 1726378)

Definitely unfair to you and your horse. To be asked to perform a whole reining pattern when you've never done it before, and it sounds like your horse has never done it either is ridiculous.....

However in saying that, you have some ownership in some of it - you forgot your bridle....probably didn't go over to well with the instructor.....although not really a good enough reason to ask you and your horse to do more than you can handle......

Yikes, I have a finished reining horse and some, not lots, but some experience with reinng ...and well I hate to admit it but right now at this point I don't think I could complete anything particularly jaw dropping!!!!!

Perhaps you need to look at this whole experience as a learning curve, identify what you can do in the future to avoid this kind of disappointment and embarrassment and move forward.....choose not to let it ruin your day, your week, your next lesson:-). Good luck:-)

I asked him about riding in a halter and he said it didn't matter and offered me a bridle. Sadly no one there had a big enough snaffle bit. I also explained to him that our tack room door got ripped off our trailer in the storm so 5 horses worth of tack is everywhere

I told my sister I wish I had been on my mare Cali. Her circles are breathtaking, her stops and spins amazing. She can even handle a rollback. She can lope fast circles or do wonderful slow smooth circles. Oh how I wish I had been on her!

Dreamcatcher Arabians

10-20-2012 11:51 PM

Well let's see, you show up without the proper equipment, go in a class you're not normally in, do maneuvers you & your horse have never done and you're embarrassed about it? Other than being embarrassed for not bringing your bridle, the rest is just a learning process and I'm sure no one expected you and your horse to be picture perfect. You went out of your comfort zone and you learned something new.

Sorry, I agree with your instructor. Loosen up and enjoy life a little, learn something new. If your horse has arthritis, then no, he won't be a reiner, but doing a pattern once won't kill him. I'm old, I have arthritis and I do all kinds of things. The more I do, the less I hurt.

ThePaintGirl

10-21-2012 12:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dreamcatcher Arabians
(Post 1726384)

Well let's see, you show up without the proper equipment, go in a class you're not normally in, do maneuvers you & your horse have never done and you're embarrassed about it? Other than being embarrassed for not bringing your bridle, the rest is just a learning process and I'm sure no one expected you and your horse to be picture perfect. You went out of your comfort zone and you learned something new.

Sorry, I agree with your instructor. Loosen up and enjoy life a little, learn something new. If your horse has arthritis, then no, he won't be a reiner, but doing a pattern once won't kill him. I'm old, I have arthritis and I do all kinds of things. The more I do, the less I hurt.

All I was asking the instructor was if he would be okay doing it with his arthritis. I didnt know so i asked.

IMHO, doing the reining pattern wasn't a learning process because it was clearly to advanced for mine and my sister's horses. My sister was on a green broke 2yr filly. It really confused both our horses because they were no where near this stage in their training to even attempt this.

NeuroticMare

10-21-2012 04:10 AM

Riding class? Why are you driving 5 hours to go to lessons? Don't you have any instructors closer?

Your lesson sounds like fun to me, although I definitely wouldn't ride a 2 year old like your sister did, let alone for 2 hours work of lessons.

I guess I am confused about the whole situation.

franknbeans

10-21-2012 05:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThePaintGirl
(Post 1726398)

All I was asking the instructor was if he would be okay doing it with his arthritis. I didnt know so i asked.

IMHO, doing the reining pattern wasn't a learning process because it was clearly to advanced for mine and my sister's horses. My sister was on a green broke 2yr filly. It really confused both our horses because they were no where near this stage in their training to even attempt this.

Isn't that what a lesson is for? Challenging yourself, performing to the best of your and your horses ability? I seriously doubt anyone expected the maneuvers to be perfect. Hopefully you were not so busy worrying about how"embarrassed" you were to actually learn now to make your horses circles (or something) better! Even with arthritis some of that can be done. Stop making excuses. I would also suggest that you try and get organized prior to each lesson so that you show up (not miss lessons) and show up prepared! Making excuses for your horse, lack of equipment, why you can't........gets really old. Buck up, ride and have fun. Personally, I would have laughed my way through it, but, perhaps I don't take everything so seriously.:wink:

ThePaintGirl

10-21-2012 01:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by franknbeans
(Post 1726499)

Isn't that what a lesson is for? Challenging yourself, performing to the best of your and your horses ability? I seriously doubt anyone expected the maneuvers to be perfect. Hopefully you were not so busy worrying about how"embarrassed" you were to actually learn now to make your horses circles (or something) better! Even with arthritis some of that can be done. Stop making excuses. I would also suggest that you try and get organized prior to each lesson so that you show up (not miss lessons) and show up prepared! Making excuses for your horse, lack of equipment, why you can't........gets really old. Buck up, ride and have fun. Personally, I would have laughed my way through it, but, perhaps I don't take everything so seriously.:wink:

You can challenge yourself and your horses but that doesn't mean when your at step 2 you skip to step 7. He also didn't explain how to properly lope in a circle, do a spin, stop, do a rollback. If your horse was just taught to jump 1ft, that doesn't mean the next day you jump 5ft.

Im not trying to make excuses but I know my horse's ability and training and I know that doing a full reining pattern was to advanced for my horse. And though we were not expected to do it perfectly, we were expected to be able to perform it without trouble.

Quote:

Originally Posted by NeuroticMare
(Post 1726472)

Riding class? Why are you driving 5 hours to go to lessons? Don't you have any instructors closer?

Your lesson sounds like fun to me, although I definitely wouldn't ride a 2 year old like your sister did, let alone for 2 hours work of lessons.

I guess I am confused about the whole situation.

We didn't drive 5 hours. the class was 5 hours long. It also isnt lessons, its a college class. And the class would be fun if your on a broke broke horse. As for riding the 2yr, this class was supposed to be for young green horses, the vet checked her out, and the 2 hours isn't all riding, alot of it is ground work.

peppersgirl

10-21-2012 05:22 PM

I gotta agree with the OP on the not skipping steps thing.... especially with the 2 year old. You can really fuzz up a young horse by asking for too much to soon.... circles no biggie, but a rollback is kind of advanced.

My mare pepper is a finished cutting horse..I can do a roll back on her no problem, but if I all of the sudden expected her to twirl with the zeal of a reiner- I think I would comepletely throw her off, and bring out the neurotic nervous inner pepper.. you have to build up to certain things:)

franknbeans

10-21-2012 05:28 PM

We are talking a college class. Perhaps the instructor wanted to see if the riders had the sense to adapt what was asked to the abilities of their horses. Just a thought, rather than trying to force a horse who doesn't know better to do something like that. The coaches I know are pretty sympathetic to the horses ability and make their riders judge that and ride accordingly. Kind of like that trick question on a test. There to see how you handle it. ;-)